1. Poetry
An introduction…

2. Definition
“I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose,—words in their best order; poetry,—the best words in their best order.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

3. Emily Dickinson
As you watch the following video, follow along with the poems on the handout – make notations as things are mentioned
John Green Crash Course - Poetry
Video is about 10 minutes – John Green Crash Course

4. Review Notes What types of techniques/elements did you note?
Punctuation
Meaning of color
The use of “eye” and “I”
Let’s apply this to other poetry.

5. Where do I start? Techniques for reading poetry:
Turn to page 31 in your survival guide
TPCASTT
Try it!
Read the poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost
After your first read-through, begin the TPCASTT
Do this in your RJ

6. “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
T – Title
P – Paraphrase
C – Connotation
A – Attitude
S – Shift
T – Theme
Discuss their results
T- Nothing Gold Can Stay – something leaves? Dies? Tarnishes? Sounds pessimistic or sad
P – Nature starts fresh but doesn’t stay that way long, flowers wilt which is a sad event, days end which means that everything must come to an end
C – Personification – Nature as “her”
Extended metaphor between nature and life
Alliteration – green, gold; hardest, hue, hold; dawn, down, day
Rhyme – rhyming couplets
Allusion to Eden – garden (death of nature, perhaps introduction of sin into the world – is that why nothing gold can stay? Because of sin? Darkness of humanity?
A- begins positive, looking at the beauty of nature – then shifts into dismay/disappointment at the loss of that beauty
S – mini shifts between each line but major shift at line 6 (So Eden sank to grief) clue students into conjunctions (So…indicates a result of something)
T – overall theme appears to be something in the realm of “even the most beautiful of things will eventually decay/change” “change is inevitable”
T – Nothing Gold Can Stay – fits theme, overall idea that beauty fades, like elements of nature

7. Now what? Remember the AP Prompt?
How does the author use literary techniques/elements to create an effect on the reader and convey the central theme or message?
Write a thesis statement that answers this prompt in response to “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”
Pair up and share – revise each other’s statements
Remember the structure?
(first literary technique/element), (second literary technique/ element), and (optional third literary technique/element) are used to (verb + article + noun), which (adverb + verb) a/the central idea of/that (theme).
Have students share
Using rhyme, alliteration and extended metaphor, the poet creates the image of deteriorating nature which effectively conveys the central idea that all beauty eventually declines.

8. Homework
Use your thesis statement to craft a 250 word mini-essay in your Reader’s Journal answering the following prompt:
How does Frost use literary techniques/ elements to create an effect on the reader while conveying a central theme or message?
This will be a “ticket-in-the-door” for tomorrow.

9. Poetry An introduction…
Day Two

10. Your Homework Partner up and share your mini-essays
Note differences and similarities in techniques/elements and theme
Share major common ideas with class

11. Rhyme Rhyme can be an important aspect of poetry
While not all poetry rhymes, there are some structures that require it
Sonnets, limericks, villanelles, terza rhima (just to name a few)
When a poem contains rhyme, what does it mean for the critical reader?

12. Example
Label the scheme A B C D E F G
That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, are ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west; Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire, That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the deathbed whereon it must expire, Consumed with that which it was nourished by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
Look for patterns
Count the lines, how many are there?
Clue students in to the elements of a Shakespearean sonnet

13. Put it all together Rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG 14 lines
Even pattern of stressed syllables (how many syllables in each line?)
It’s a Shakespearean Sonnet!
Remember what Foster said – “If it’s square, it’s a sonnet.”

14. Now let’s work on that prompt
How does the author use literary techniques/elements to create an effect on the reader and convey the central theme or message?
Pair up and analyze the poem – take notes in your RJ
Collectively write a thesis statement answering the prompt
When you are done, come back to the teacher computer and type your thesis statement into a Word Document
Share results
Deconstruct their statements, what could they have done to improve them?

15. Fun Poetry Friday “Did I Miss Anything?” by Tom Wayman
Read and take note of overall tone, how is the tone created?
“The Grammar Lesson” by Steve Kowit
What is the dominant literary technique used?
Why? What effect does it have on the reader?
Did I Miss Anything?
Overall tone is dry/sarcastic
Tone is created using the alternating “nothing” and “everything” – also the use of “I”, “we” and “you”
Rhetorical question towards the end
The Grammar Lesson
Dominant lit technique is repetition
Effect is confusion/frustration/annoyance (perhaps the way most people feel towards grammar?)